MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Russian and Belarusian security agencies have curbed the activities of an international criminal group dealing in drug production, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) told TASS on Monday.

"As a result of efforts of officers of the Federal Security Service and Belarusian law enforcers, illegal activities of an international group specializing in production and trafficking of methadone on a massive scale have been curbed," the spokesman said.

The group was organized by a drug dealer known under the nickname Sasha Mogilevsky who rented a private house in the Moscow region where he arranged a laboratory to manufacture the drug that was sold on the black market. He and his two accomplices were detained. More than 27 kilograms of drugs and more than 200 kilograms of precursors were seized.

"’Sasha Mogilevsky’ and his two accomplices were detained barehanded in the Moscow region in the final stage of the international operation. More than 27 kilograms of crystalline substance with liquid containing methadone drug in high concentrations, more than 200 kilograms of prohibited precursors and laboratory equipment were seized. The black market price of the seized drug amounts to about 80 million rubles [1.36 million US dollars]," the spokesman said.

A criminal case was opened by the FSB’s investigation department.